MINOCQUA, Wis. (WFRV) – Minocqua might be known as a summer hotspot, but the Island City with a population of 4,000 will be heating up with activity in the springtime. The Greater Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau is offering a $75 round-trip shuttle for visitors and locals alike to take to the first day of the NFL Draft.
“We’re an iconic Northwoods tourism destination, and any time you can come up here is a great time,” President and CEO Kimberly Westfahl said. “Obviously, April is not necessarily a peak time for visitors, but it’s great because you get to have that low-key locals experience.”
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Passengers are in for a long day, as the bus leaves Minocqua at 9 a.m. and will not return until midnight. Visitors bureau staff are hopeful that passengers will stay overnight and bring extra business to the area.
“If folks are from up in the UP, we’re not getting back until real late at night, so they may stay overnight here and have a good time in Minocqua the next day,” Westfahl said.
Minocqua is not the only westernly Wisconsin city planning for shuttles to take visitors to the NFL Draft in Green Bay, as Visit Wausau is hoping to turn $55 tickets into hundreds of thousands of dollars for local businesses.
“We figure anything from a half a million to a million dollars,” executive director Tim White said. “We basically jumped in and reserved some shuttles with Lamers and worked with area hoteliers to offer special packages.”
Wausau will have even more shuttles, with plans calling for three buses on Thursday and one each on Friday and Saturday to give visitors the experience of central Wisconsin and one of the world’s largest free fan events.
“We actually have people from Missouri that have registered to stay up here and take the shuttle over there,” White said.
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Both shuttles are nearly full at last check, so staff say to book quickly to experience two parts of the dairy state.
“Our hope is that people can come here and experience the Northwoods and our tourism destination, and then go to the big city of Green Bay and be able to experience the draft and this juxtaposition between the two parts of the state,” Westfahl said.
